“I’m Mary Poppins ya’ll!” Guardians 2 doesn’t live up to what the first movie achieved, but that would have been hard to do. This sophomore effort is fun to say the least, and even though some aspects seem belabored, it’s well worth the 2 hours from your day. Read on for our (spoiler-filled) reviews and analyses….
This isn’t the Fast and the Furious, but it’s all about family in this wide, vast galaxy. But first everyone needs to get past their daddy issues, and boy are there a lot. The biggest is the triple threat of Star-Lord, Yondu, and Ego, the long lost Celestial father of Quill. Peter finds himself face to face with the man who came to Earth, knocked his mother up and then left, a story many a child on Earth can relate to. He finds out what really happened between his mom and Ego, why he came to be on Earth, and the truth behind his mother’s death and what he is. Mixed in is Yondu, the Ravager who was supposed to deliver Peter to his father Ego 24 years earlier. We find out that Yondu was actually saving Quill from his ultimate fate and turned out to be the father figure he was so desperately seeking, and not David Hasselhoff. Meanwhile, Gamora and Nebula continue their violent sibling rivalry and come to terms with the father who has made them what they are, Thanos. Mix in Rocket’s realization of his shitty attitude toward… anything, which stems from his creator, and the father figures that Star-Lord, Rocket, and Drax play to a baby/kid Groot, and it makes any dysfunctional family look healthy. But through all of it, they come together, as they should, like family.
Now I’m going to get a little technical. I feel GotG 2 tries too hard, trying to bring too much of what made the first movie so appealing. Drax’s constant laughing feels forced and laborious after a point, like real quick. Add in Star-Lord and Rocket’s bantering/arguing to the forced and laborious category. Now so I don’t seem like a total downer, Kid Groot was downright cute (how fun was that opening scene?), and Ayesha of the Sovereign, Mantis, and Kraglin were hidden gems in this movie. Kurt Russell as Ego didn’t disappoint. I was surprised to see Stallone as Stakar and the rest of the Ravagers, who in the comic universe are the original Guardians. Speaking on that, there are a lot of references in this movie that only comic book nerds who have been reading these stories for years will get. But for the most part, you don’t have to know these things to enjoy it.
Now, lastly, we get to the heart and the star of this movie, Yondu. He made a transformation that would melt anyone’s heart; if not, you are as cold as a Frost Giant. His scene with Rocket, telling him, “I know who you are, you’re me!” says it all. Coming to terms with the past and who he is, redeeming himself and bringing honor back to the Ravager code, all culminate into a tear jerker of a sendoff where even Rocket shed a tear. I find it a little disappointing to have one of the most compelling characters killed off and miss him in future movies in the MCU.
With that said, I give Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2…. 3 1/2 
‘s (these are frames by the way) And by all means stay for the end credits…….Adam Warlock!
-William aka The Framing Dork
Now let’s hear from Lewis:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was good, but not as good as the first. The best things about the movie are Baby Groot, Rocket Raccoon and Drax, with an exceptional Yondu who steals the show. The theme of family plays heavily in the movie, almost to a fault. With respects to Ego, as a comic book fan, a collector of more than 20,000 books for around 35 years, the idea of making him 3 characters in one, EGO/a Celestial/The Beyonder, was a bit much for me to swallow. I understand that Marvel changes things from the comics to movies, to either appeal to a broader range of viewers and to make storylines easier to follow, but I don’t have to like it. And I’ll always love Kurt Russell, but not as this.
Anyone that knows me, when I like a movie, I’ll see it more than once. I have seen 9 movies this year, including GotG V2, and I haven’t seen any of them more than once. Chew on that for a while. 🙂 With everything I have said, I will still give the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2…. 3 1/2 ‘s also.
-Lewis aka The Jedi Master
Till next time!
The Last Bastion of Framing on Earth 